The aim of this course is to encourage students to learn about non-musical theatre and how it works. In the theatre we willingly agree to believe in a carefully constructed pretence, so the audience’s contribution to each performance is crucial. Once we have joined an audience we allow ourselves to be manipulated and the experience may help us to know when we are being manipulated against our wills. The theatre is a place of learning and there we learn most about ourselves, our desires, our fears, our prejudices. How do playwrights, directors, actors, designers and crews acquire the techniques to achieve this and how does each production of each play express a unique truth? This course offers an opportunity to answer these questions after viewing a wide variety of plays.